Industry welcomes release of proposed Stage 2 rule

Industry executives welcomed the release of proposed Stage 2 meaningful-use requirements and have begun analyzing them to offer any recommended changes for the final rule.

“We will carefully review the proposed rule on Stage 2 of the Medicare/Medicaid EHR meaningful use incentive program and provide our formal comments before the 60-day comment period ends,” Dr. Steven Stack, chair-elect of the American Medical Association said in a news release. “We have provided ongoing input since the inception of the EHR incentive program and have stressed the need for flexibility in the program requirements. To eliminate roadblocks and encourage greater physician participation, it is important that a full evaluation of the EHR Stage 1 incentive program occurs prior to finalizing Stage 2 requirements,” Stack said.

Officials at the Health Information and Management Systems Society said in a statement that they were “pleased” with the release of the regulations and standards for the proposed rule. “These are significant steps forward in transforming healthcare in the United States of America,” HIMSS officials wrote.

“The proposed Stage 2 rule released today is a very promising and important step to advance the use of health information technology in ways that are meaningful to patients and families,” Christine Bechtel, vice president for the National Partnership for Women & Families and a member of HHS' Health IT Policy Committee, said in a news release. “This new rule can promote the kind of patient-centered care Americans urgently need,” Bechtel said.

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